The Best Australian Albums

Respected music industry figures John O'Donnell, Toby Creswell & Craig Mathieson have just released the highly anticipated book "The 100 Best Australian Albums", with Midnight Oil's 1987 classic "Diesel and Dust" considered to be the nation's finest musical work.



Everybody has a different opinion about the "best" albums; how do you define "best"? Is it based upon commercial success, song writing craft, or critical acclaim? There is no definitive answer to this question; here is my take on the Australia's 10 best albums [in no particular order]:



"Boys Light Up" [1980] - Australian Crawl. This debut album was commercially successful, yet vastly ignored from a song writer's perspective. The group was written off by the critics for being "pretty boys", however the unique writing talents of the individual band members are obvious on this release. "Downhearted" still sounds fresh on the radio 30 years on. James Reyne remains a hugely under-rated song writer; his ironic lyrical sense places him alongside the talent of Randy Newman [in my opinion!!].



"...ish" [1988] - 1927. Produced by Charles Fisher, this No. 1 album saw Garry Frost's song writing talents get a 2nd chance after his former band, Moving Pictures, couldn't capitalise on their initial success. "That's When I Think Of You" and "If I Could" represent perfect song writing craft.



"Diamantina Cocktail" [1977] - Little River Band. A sleeper nomination for the most important Australian rock band in history; LRB made it possible for local acts to achieve international mainstream success. The "classic" band line-up for this album features 3 talented song writers [Beeb Birtles, Glenn Shorrock, Graeham Goeble], superb vocal harmonies and seasoned musicianship. With stand out tracks like "Help Is On Its Way" and "Home On Monday " , the world soon appreciated the band's enormous talent.



"Savage Garden" [1997] - Savage Garden. Certainly not everybody's cup of tea, however this debut album was a massive international success. A combination of well-crafted pop songs and Charles Fisher's production skills saw "To The Moon And Back" and "Truly Madly Deeply" gain a worldwide audience. Their songs remain on heavy rotation on commercial radio to this day.



"Living In The '70's" [1974] - Skyhooks. Whilst being far too "Australian" to be successful n an international level, there will never be another band like Skyhooks. It's important to remember that this was Australia's highest selling album for many years. When Gough Whitlam [Australian Prime Minister 1972-1975] quoted "Ego Is Not A Dirty Word" in a press conference, we witnessed pop music and politics comine in a good-natured way for the 1st time. Skyhooks were personable, intelligent and naughty!!



"Spirit Of Place" [1983] - Goanna. The 1st Australian album to truly acknowledge the nation's indigenous history. Shane Howard [lead singer and song writer] has never been comfortable in the public eye, hence Goanna could never leverage off their huge talent to capture an international audience. Midnight Oil wrote songs about similar topics as Goanna, however Peter Garrett is an engaging personality; that's why Midnight Oil experienced huge success in the USA. "Solid Rock" is a truly classic Australian song; "Razor's Edge" isn't far behind. Fortunately, Shane Howard's song writing talent has been appreciated post-Goanna, with his work covered by many Australian and international artists.


"East" [1980] - Cold Chisel. To put things simply, Australia's greatest rock band to never crack the international markets. The diversity of "Cheap Wine" [penned by Don Walker] and "Ita" [Ian Moss] displayed pure rock and pop from an Australian perspective. In time, Jimmy Barnes and Steve Prestwich would display their unique song writing talents as well. Chisel contained two great singers [Barnes and Moss], diversified song writers and they always delivered strong live performances. Just like Skyhooks, Cold Chisel may have been too "Australian" to catch the eye of music lovers abroad. This being said, there endearing popularity to this day confirms that great songs are appreciated by generations beyond their inception.


"Bellavista Terrace" [1998] - The Go-Betweens. Robert Forster and Grant McLennan were Australia's answer to Lennon and McCartney respectively; Lennon with his lyrical cynicism and McLennan with his melodic pop sensibility. Whilst this album is a "best of", it captures all aspects of the group's song writing strengths in one fell swoop. It is only now that The Go-Between's songs are acknowledged for their simple brillance; if they were photogenic, they would have been huge internationally!! "Cattle and Cane" and "The Wrong Road" are songs of classic structure, and "Streets Of Your Town" could not be any catchier.


"Crowded House" [1986] - Crowded House. Yes, Neil Finn is a Kiwi, however 2/3rds of this group were Australian; therefore this album qualifies in my books. Finn's song writing was never fully appreciated during the Split Enz era; this subsequent band took his craft to the world. We are all sick and tired of hearing "Don't Dream It's Over" and "Something So Strong", however these songs represent commercial 1980's pop at it's very best. Neil Finn was no one-trick pony; he continues to write simple, melodic songs in the traditional singer-song writer sense. And he is very good at doing so...


"Kick" [1987] - INXS. Love them or hate them, INXS were one of the most popular rock bands in the world in the late 1980's. Four US Top 10 singles from one album is an enormous feat, especially for an Australian group. "Need You Tonight" was ahead of its time. "New Sensation" was born to make people dance. Michael Hutchence was Australia's greatest rock star, and we should never forget INXS' level of international success.